Abrams: Wait for the Opportune Moment for Star Trek

J.J. Abrams confessed to being a fan of Leonard Nimoy and said he thought the Star Trek franchise should be revived for the right story, not based on any specific schedule.

In an interview at Cinefantastique (via TrekWeb), Abrams talked about working on the next Star Trek film and about Mission: Impossible III, which he also directed for Paramount. "I'm a real fan of Star Trek and I think there is without question life left in that series," he said. "I think that the fact that they ran so many series for so long, including an after-the-film series, is sort of remarkable, and I think that this downtime is only good for it."

Abrams added that he would "happily be involved" with any franchise that at one time featured Nimoy, which includes both Star Trek and Mission: Impossible, which filmed side by side at Paramount in the late 1960s. Nimoy moved to Mission: Impossible after Star Trek's cancellation when original series star Martin Landau left.

Star Trek "should exist because it's the right story, not because it's the right time to exploit an intellectual property", added Abrams, who thinks that the series has not returned yet because the moment wasn't right. "I think the good news is that it hasn't seen the light of day again yet because it shouldn't, but I am convinced it will soon and it's something that without question has a very bright future and done right could be as compelling as anything," he said. "You can't tell the story in a cheap or pandering way otherwise it just doesn't hold water."

The full article is in the new issue of Cinefantastique. Thanks to TrekWeb for the excerpts.